When I was growing up the idea that one day most of us would pay for bottled water at the supermarket seemed positively preposterous. Yet, as I write this in 2009 it is estimated that consumers worldwide spend between $50 and $100 billion dollars per year on the stuff. I have always been skeptical about the claims that the bottlers make about the quality of the water that they are peddling and rarely buy it. Recently, I decided to take a closer look at this … more

Another one of those great corporate tricks used on naive suburbanites to make them believe they're living healthier. Really, in this country we have access to the very best, cleanest tap water on the planet, and we've managed to trick ourselves into thinking we're doing ourselves good by paying three bucks a bottle. This isn't a healthy choice; it's a middle-class status symbol which, FYI, is produced in factories.

My user-name was derived from the title of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. I came to Lunch with the hopes of publishing reviews that would be appreciated by others and reading the reviews of others that hope … more

Wiki

The U.S. is the largest consumer market for bottled water in the world, followed by Mexico, China, and Brazil. In 2008, U.S. bottled water sales topped 8.6 billion gallons for 28.9% of the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market, exceeding sales of all other beverages except carbonated soft drinks, followed by fruit juices and sports drinks.

RegulationIn the United States, bottled water is regulated by the Food & Drug Administration according to standards of identity, standards of quality and good manufacturing practices.

Standards of identity define types of water for labeling purposes. To be called ground water, the water must not be under the direct influence of surface water. Water containing not less than 250 parts per million of total dissolved solids are mineral water. Artesian water comes from a well tapping a confined aquifer in which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer; it may be collected with the assistance of external force to enhance the natural underground pressure. Water that has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or similar processes are purified or demineralized water. Sparkling water contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at emergence from the source, although it may be removed and replenished in treatment. Spring water must be derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the Earth's surface. Sterile water water meets the requirements under ...